Tag: Alderman Colón

Emanuel touts “swat team” CTA station renewal; advocates rally against federal cuts to transit

[flickr]photo:6168877252[/flickr]Rey Colón, Forrest Claypool and Rahm Emanuel

Yesterday was a busy one for transit-related press events in Chicago. In the morning Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) President Forrest Claypool appeared at the Logan Square Blue Line station, my local stop, to announce their plans to clean and rehab 100 stations within the next year at a cost of $25 million. In the afternoon public transit workers and boosters railed against a Republican proposal to slash more than a third of federal highway and public transportation funding.

I’ve often wondered why the CTA has allowed some of its stations to become so shabby when other systems, like Washington, D.C.’s Metro, have much more appealing facilities. Logan Square was a good example, with crumbling plaster, a dingy, cave-like platform tunnel, and an eternally dripping platform tunnel ceiling. Dismal conditions like these breed discontent from regular customers and discourage potential riders from using transit instead of driving.

Continue reading Emanuel touts “swat team” CTA station renewal; advocates rally against federal cuts to transit

Residents choose what they like for a 35th Ward student active transportation plan

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On September 1st, 2011, at the St. Sylvester fieldhouse across from Palmer Square Park, residents of the 35th Ward, encompassing Logan Square, gathered to hear an introduction to the 35th Ward Student Active Transportation Plan. The 35th Ward office has hired Sam Schwartz Engineering (SSE) to conduct public meetings, gather residents’ input, and craft a plan to make biking and walking easier and safer around schools and parks in the ward. Continue reading Residents choose what they like for a 35th Ward student active transportation plan

Four transportation events in and for Logan Square

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A rendering of the Bike/Walk35 group’s vision for the Logan Square CTA station. 

One event happened last week, one is this week, one the following week, and the last happens each weekend in September.

Bike/Walk35 presentation on vision and goals for Logan Square CTA station

I joined the Bike/Walk35 group to help them create a great bike parking plan for the station. Last Thursday, August 25, 2011, at the St. Sylvester gymnasium (2157 N Humboldt), we presented on the history, goals, and vision for the Logan Square Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Blue Line station (2620 N Kedzie). Continue reading Four transportation events in and for Logan Square

Future plans for Logan Square now stymied by new parking ordinance

Update: If you want to know what residents think, avoid the comments section on the Tribune article and head straight to the discussion on EveryBlock. Added Reverend Stein’s letter to the editor (scroll to end) on August 12, 2011. 

Alderman Colón (35th Ward) told Moving Design participants last Wednesday that his office fields more calls about parking than gangs or drugs.

The City Council acts faster on parking issues than the others: the importance of parking manifested in March and June 2011 when the City Council passed two ordinances to turn certain stretches of travel lanes on the Logan Square boulevard network into legal and unmetered parking spaces.

Was there backdoor dealing?

News of the street transformation came to light this week, thanks to Jon Hilkevitch at the Chicago Tribune. Passed without any public review, “[residents] fear the move led by 35th Ward Ald. Rey Colon to establish free parking along parts of Logan, Kedzie and Humboldt boulevards, where open parkways foster a feeling of airiness, will make the grand roads seem like parking lots. Logan Square, some residents warn, could become too much of a good thing, like crowded and always bustling Lincoln Park.”

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The map shows the four distinct stretches of boulevards in Logan Square that now offer many hours of free parking each week. Created with QGIS and Adobe Illustrator using data from the City of Chicago.  Continue reading Future plans for Logan Square now stymied by new parking ordinance